- A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the sexual assault and murder of his 18-year-old stepsister, Anna Kepner, whose body was found on a Carnival Cruise ship.
- Kepner's body was discovered in November, wrapped in a blanket and covered in life jackets under a bed in a room she shared with her stepbrother and another teen.
- The U.S. Justice Department announced that the teen, identified as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile but will now be prosecuted as an adult following a U.S. District Judge's order.
- Authorities determined the cause of death to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when breathing is stopped by an object or physical force.
- Prior to the charges and arrest, the stepbrother was a focus of the investigation, with his stepfather suggesting his potential responsibility.
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